Chapter Summaries

Thor led the Avengers and X-Men into Manhattan as Loki’s portal opened above Stark Tower and the Chitauri invaded New York. While Alex searched for the Skrull Mimics, Tony confronted Loki in the tower, where a mysterious force broke Loki’s attempt to control him and Loki cried out Alex’s name.

• Alex split the heroes into two groups, sending Thor with most of the Avengers and X-Men to Manhattan while he took Adam and Jean Grey to hunt Charles and the Charles Mimic.
• Thor and Tony failed to destroy the portal device’s energy Force Field, and Erik Selvig was knocked unconscious by the resulting blast.
• The Chitauri poured through the portal, and Steve ordered the heroes to fight the invaders, seal off Manhattan, and rescue civilians.
• Loki appeared inside Stark Tower while Tony prepared to change suits, and Tony stalled him while secretly putting on bracelets linked to his armor.
• Loki pressed the Mind Scepter against Tony and began taking control of him, but an unexpected force shattered the control and made Loki cry out, “Alex?!”

Alex failed to close the portal with the Mind Scepter and struggled to reach the Chitauri mothership, so Thor and Bill joined him as he charged into the portal with a third ally. As the battle worsened, Nick Fury warned that the Security Council might launch a nuclear bomb at New York, while Bill explained that destroying the mothership could cripple the Chitauri.

• Alex disarmed Loki, but Loki escaped after creating a swarm of illusions and using a Chitauri attack to cover his flight.
• Alex tried the Mind Scepter on the portal device, found that it had no effect, and was driven back by the Chitauri's concentrated attacks.
• Steve asked Thor and Bill to help Alex reach the mothership, but both initially refused, while Tony stayed to fight on the ground.
• Charles and Storm arrived, and Charles proved they were genuine by knocking out Chitauri across two blocks with a Mind Blast.
• Nick Fury warned Steve and the others that the Security Council might launch a nuclear bomb at New York if the invasion spread further.
• Alex, Thor, and Bill charged through the Chitauri and entered the portal, while Bill explained that destroying their mothership could kill the Chitauri connected to it.

Alex, Adam, and Warlord fought through the Chitauri forces in space while Loki sabotaged Manhattan’s defenses by mentally controlling superpowered individuals. Reed and the Fantastic Four repaired several breaches but were ambushed by Skrull Mimics, leaving Nick Fury and Steve to suspect the Exiles had another plan.

• Alex, Adam, and Warlord reached the Chitauri warship but found its shield blocked Teleportation and had to fight through the surrounding army.
• Loki disguised himself and used mental control to turn defenders against one another, allowing Chitauri to break through Manhattan’s defensive lines.
• Nick Fury sent Steve a report about the breaches, and Steve ordered Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four to reinforce the outer defenses.
• Charles told Reed that Loki’s shallow mental control could be broken by injuring or knocking out its victims, and Reed’s group cleared four breaches.
• Skrull Mimics disguised as superpowered individuals attacked Reed’s group; the Fantastic Four captured one group, but a later ambush forced Reed to escape with his team.
• Nick Fury called for reinforcements while Steve concluded that the missing Exiles were likely pursuing another plan.

Steve and Nick Fury discussed the Exiles’ arrival and decided to hold back while preparing to send a nuclear bomb through the portal. Beyond the portal, Thanos trapped Alex, Adam, and Warlord with the Time Stone and demanded their Infinity Stones, but an explosion suddenly shattered the Chitauri hive warship as Alex began to surrender.

• Steve warned Nick Fury that the Exiles’ appearance might signal Thanos was about to reveal his plans, and they agreed to wait for Alex and the others before committing forces.
• Nick Fury proposed firing nuclear bombs through the portal, and Tony and Reed judged the plan feasible if the bombs traveled far enough before detonating.
• Alex, Adam, and Warlord landed on the living Chitauri hive warship and were trapped inside an orange-yellow crystal by Thanos’s Time Stone.
• Thanos revealed the Time Stone and demanded that Alex and Adam surrender their Infinity Stones; Adam formed a cocoon, and Alex agreed to hand over the Tesseract and Mind Scepter.
• As Thanos reached for the stones, an explosion tore apart the hive warship and engulfed it in flames.

Alex escaped Thanos with Warlord and cocooned Adam, taking something from Thanos as he fled into space. Earth celebrated the end of the Battle of New York, but the heroes remained worried about Alex’s whereabouts and the threat Thanos still posed.

• Alex teleported away from Thanos’s exploding mothership with Warlord and cocooned Adam, after snatching something from Thanos.
• Thanos quelled the explosion, found his hand empty, and vowed to find Alex.
• The Chitauri across the mothership and on Earth died when the mothership was destroyed, and the Exiles withdrew.
• The superheroes confirmed their victory, and Tony Stark organized a celebration in the ruins of New York.
• Jean Grey worried about Alex while Professor X defended the celebration as a source of hope for humanity.
• Tony asked Charles about Alex, who reported that Emma’s search had found nothing, while Logan insisted Alex would survive.

Alex hid with Warlord and cocooned Adam in the Chitauri mothership’s wreckage while Thanos searched for them. Worried Thanos would threaten Earth, Alex returned to New York and learned that Thanos had surrounded the planet and demanded the Infinity Gauntlet.

• Alex and Warlord stayed concealed in the mothership’s wreckage until Adam woke, but Warlord warned that Thanos might attack Earth while searching for them.
• Alex decided to return to Earth alone because Adam’s cocoon was too large to take with him, leaving Warlord to guard Adam.
• Alex teleported back to New York and was surprised to find the city rebuilding after the Chitauri mothership’s destruction.
• Tony, Charles, Steve, and the others welcomed Alex at Stark Tower, then Tony revealed that Thanos had demanded the Infinity Gauntlet or threatened to destroy Earth.
• Reed told Alex that Thanos’s fleet had surrounded Earth and that its firepower overwhelmed their defenses.

Alex rejected giving Thanos the Infinity Gauntlet and set out to gather allies against his fleet. After securing Black Bolt and Attilan, he learned that the Eternals had been seen near Saturn and departed to find them.

• Alex ruled out surrendering the Infinity Gauntlet, announced that Earth would fight, and promised to protect everyone.
• Alex traveled to Attilan and persuaded Black Bolt and Medusa to join the war against Thanos.
• Black Bolt agreed to send Attilan, though Medusa warned that the damaged fortress had lost much of its former strength.
• Medusa told Alex that her people had encountered beings called the Eternals near Saturn and said they might help defeat Thanos.
• Alex teleported away from Attilan to search for the Eternals.

As Earth’s superheroes prepared to seek help against Thanos, Tony revealed that the government knew of mechanical aliens and proposed uniting every person and force on Earth. Professor X then announced that Emma was returning with more than a hundred mutants, including Magneto.

• Steve proposed contacting human governments, but Logan objected until Tony argued that the heroes needed every possible chance of survival.
• Professor X and Reed doubted that human weapons could help in a cosmic war, while Tony insisted that humanity had hidden resources.
• Tony revealed that Area 51 held mechanical lifeforms, and Deadpool unexpectedly appeared, claiming to know Optimus Prime and Megatron before Professor X ordered him out.
• Nick Fury promised to handle the Transformers, and Tony proposed seeking help from Hydra, the Hellfire Club, and every other person and force on Earth.
• Steve agreed to set aside personal grievances and cooperate with former enemies.
• Professor X announced that Emma was returning to Earth with more than a hundred mutants, including Magneto.

As Earth’s leaders began organizing a global alliance against Thanos, Alex reached Saturn and met Starfox, an Eternal who had been tracking Thanos. Starfox could offer little military support, but he led Alex toward the Eternals’ Eternal Knowledge, which he claimed could grant extraordinary abilities.

• Steve stopped the complaints about Magneto and insisted that Earth’s defenders accept his help because the planet’s safety came first.
• Tony said the human governments would contact Hydra and the Hellfire Club, then began working with the US Government to establish a global alliance.
• Alex arrived near Saturn, where the magnetic field around the rings disrupted his Psionic Power, and Starfox appeared before him.
• Starfox told Alex that Thanos had become a threat to the Eternals and recounted their history, including their refusal to use weapons.
• Starfox said he could offer only himself and the Eternals’ accumulated Eternal Knowledge, then led Alex onward to experience it.

Alex visited the Eternals on Titan to seek their help against Thanos and learn about their hidden power. The elders brought him to Eternal Knowledge, a portion of the Heart of the Universe, but left him unsure how to use it.

• Starfox welcomed Alex to Titan and explained that the Eternals hid there from Thanos, but had revealed their dome to honor Alex for defeating him.
• The three elders greeted Alex, and he told them he had come to ask for help concerning Thanos and Earth.
• The elders led Alex into the Eternals' Forbidden Zone and descended by elevator to a chamber near the planet's core.
• The elders revealed Eternal Knowledge, which they described as a part of the Heart of the Universe containing the truths of the universe and coveted by Thanos.
• Alex asked what Eternal Knowledge did and how he was supposed to use it, suggesting a data transfer.

Alex gained vast wisdom from Eternal Knowledge and left to prepare for the fight against Thanos. The three elders remained unsure whether Alex could overcome him.

• The three elders told Alex that the Eternals knew only a prophecy about Eternal Knowledge and could not explain how to use it.
• Alex entered the transparent sphere, and the mist inside enveloped him in a seven-colored crystal cocoon.
• The cocoon dissolved into Alex, restoring his abilities and granting him vast knowledge and wisdom.
• Alex thanked the elders and left to make arrangements, promising to return after dealing with Thanos.
• The elders wondered whether Alex had any hope, and one doubted that wisdom alone could help him overcome Thanos.

Alex returned to Earth and found Charles assembling its superpowered defenders into an alliance to fight Thanos. The Tao Yu Five Brothers revealed their fusion ability and demonstrated a level of power that shocked Alex.

• Alex found an unmarked battleship near Earth and learned from Charles that it belonged to the Transformers, who had joined forces with Earth.
• Charles told Alex that he had formed the Earth Allied Forces, and Emma said Paradise Island had been concealed from Thanos.
• Charles brought Alex to the control room, where superheroes and supervillains, including Apocalypse and Mr. Sinister, had gathered.
• Steve introduced the Tao Yu Five Brothers as Earth's hope against Thanos, and the brothers explained that they could merge and multiply their abilities.
• The Tao Yu Five Brothers fused into one figure, proclaimed “Billion Divine Power,” and left Alex staring in disbelief.

Alex considered using the Time Stone to undo events and defeat Thanos, but Deadpool suggested trapping Thanos in a time loop based on the movie Doctor Strange. Alex left with Deadpool to watch it, promising to return.

• Charles suggested Alex copy the Tao Yu Brothers' Billion Divine Power to draw upon the strength and superpowers of humanity.
• Alex explained that Thanos's two Infinity Stones left him little chance of winning and proposed using the Time Stone to rewrite the past.
• Charles gathered Steve, Reed, Tony, Emma, and others to discuss the plan, and Alex demonstrated the Time Stone by reversing the entire universe's time by thirty seconds.
• Deadpool suggested using the Time Stone to trap Thanos and the world in a time loop like the one in Doctor Strange.
• Alex grabbed Deadpool and vanished with him to watch the movie, telling the others to wait for his return.

Alex discovered that the reality reached with Deadpool was the ordinary world of the novel’s author, then confronted the young man who had created him. He altered the author’s will to make him continue writing and left him a mysterious gift.

• Deadpool told Alex that their world was made up of comic book characters, and Alex searched the planet for someone connected to himself.
• Alex teleported to Fairy Lake in China and entered the dream of a young man who recognized Alex Xuan Zhang as the protagonist of his novel.
• Alex revealed that he came from the young man’s novel and warned him not to use his authorial power to alter the world or kill its characters.
• Alex claimed the world had developed beyond the author’s control, then secretly changed the young man’s will so he would keep writing.
• Alex tapped the sleeping young man’s forehead and left a pattern of star-like dots in his mind as a gift.

Alex returned from the other world with a plan to use the Time Stone against Thanos's cosmic fleet, then began assembling a squad capable of fighting in space. Bruce Banner and Robert volunteered, while Reed asked to hear the details before deciding how to help.

• Alex left with Deadpool after learning from Doctor Strange that the Time Stone could reverse or stop time, and he reasoned that it might disable Thanos's fleet even if it could not trap Thanos.
• Alex returned to the ship only minutes after disappearing and announced that he needed to assemble a suicide squad.
• Alex called for people with great destructive power who could fight in space, but the gathered villains stayed silent.
• Bruce Banner volunteered, and Alex welcomed him as one of the few people capable of reaching Planet Level and fighting in space.
• Robert, the Sentry, volunteered, though Alex briefly worried about the dangerous being within him before deciding that releasing it might help against Thanos.
• Reed asked Alex to explain the plan so he could judge how best to assist.

Alex prepared a team to attack Thanos's fleet, while warning Charles, Steve, Emma, and the others to guard Earth against demons, human traitors, and the approaching Phoenix. With Loma unable to contact her absent father, Alex accepted that they would have to rely on themselves.

• Alex recruited Magneto, Apocalypse, Doctor Doom, the Sentry, and Black Bolt to help destroy Thanos's fleet, while Reed and Tony worked on spacesuits.
• Alex warned the assembled fighters that Thanos possessed Infinity Stones and told them to focus on his fleet while he dealt with Thanos.
• Alex asked Charles, Steve, Emma, and the others to prepare for possible demonic attacks and human betrayal.
• Alex revealed that the Phoenix was rapidly approaching Earth and asked Loma to tell her father to deal with it, but Loma said her father had already left.
• Alex accepted that they would have to rely on themselves and joined Bruce and the others to wait for Reed's preparations.

Alex led Magneto, Bruce, Sentry, Doctor Doom, Black Bolt, and Apocalypse to meet Thanos and his fleet near Saturn. Alex froze the fleet with the Time Stone and the heroes attacked, but Thanos began breaking free while Apocalypse held back to face him himself.

• Alex teleported Magneto's group to Saturn's orbit and warned them that Thanos's fleet was approaching Earth.
• Bruce transformed into Hulk, Sentry readied his power, Magneto raised a magnetic field, and Doctor Doom revealed that he possessed the Book of the Darkhold.
• Alex teleported the group near Thanos and froze Thanos and his fleet with the Time Stone.
• Hulk, Sentry, Black Bolt, Alex, Doctor Doom, and Magneto attacked the fleet, destroying ships and killing their crews.
• Apocalypse refrained from attacking the fleet and watched Thanos as he struggled free of the Time Stone's effect.

Alex and Apocalypse attacked Thanos, but Thanos overwhelmed them and revealed that he possessed the Power Stone alongside the Space and Mind Stones. Alex unleashed the power of ten billion people and briefly struck back, but Thanos remained unharmed, leaving Alex convinced that defeat was inevitable.

• Alex and Apocalypse attacked Thanos, who casually knocked Apocalypse into space and endured Alex's planet-destroying uppercut without injury.
• Thanos revealed that he held the Power Stone, the Space Stone, and the Mind Stone, leaving only the Reality Stone unaccounted for besides the stones held by Alex and Adam.
• Apocalypse returned to attack Thanos, but Thanos dismissed him as a clown and sent him flying again.
• Alex activated Ten Billion Divine Power, blasted Thanos's fleet with a roar, and shattered Thanos's floating throne with a punch, but Thanos remained unharmed.
• Thanos countered with a punch that Alex evaded using the Time Stone and Teleportation, then Alex realized Thanos had barely used his power and believed defeat was inevitable.

Alex’s body was destroyed when his time crystal collided with Thanos’s spatially empowered fist, leaving him with a chaotic energy body and only his soul-bound abilities. He used unpredictable, devastating Magic Bullets to overwhelm Thanos, but his chaotic energy began to dissipate, threatening to turn the battle around.

• Alex trapped himself in a crystal of time, and its collision with Thanos’s spatially empowered fist unleashed an explosion that destroyed most of Thanos’s fleet and blasted Alex’s body apart.
• Alex formed a chaotic energy body, discovered he could no longer make it physical, and refused Thanos’s offer to spare him if he submitted.
• Alex’s Magic Bullets struck Thanos with enormous force, then began veering, tracking him, and following him through teleportation.
• Alex realized his Magic Bullets were made of chaotic energy and unleashed a barrage that forced Thanos to defend himself with the Power Stone and the Space Stone.
• After suppressing Thanos for more than ten minutes, Alex noticed his chaotic energy rapidly dissipating as time and space began to settle.

Alex led a desperate assault on Thanos, using taunts and the others’ attacks to create openings for Hulk. After repeated clashes, Hulk finally withstood the Power Stone and was blasted back about as far as Thanos.

• Alex provoked Thanos by mocking his love for the Death Goddess, but Thanos overpowered him and forced him to teleport away.
• After the warships were cleared, Apocalypse, Doctor Doom, and the Sentinel attacked Thanos, while Magneto and Black Bolt joined in and Alex drew Thanos’s attention.
• Alex brought Thanos to Hulk, who struck Thanos in the chest and then traded a powerful blow with him before being hurled into space.
• Alex repeatedly led Thanos to Hulk, and Hulk’s clashes with the Power Stone grew more evenly matched until they were both blasted back similar distances.